Mina Shah, Top Trainer for Anthony Robbins

I met Mina Shah at a Send Out Cards gathering a few weeks ago and learned that she is one of the top trainers with the Anthony Robbins Company. A little voice inside of me wanted to learn more about this gal-- how did she end up working for Tony Robbins?

Mina's journey with Tony Robbins began six years ago, when she took his four-day seminar "Unleash the Power Within," at the suggestion of a friend. She was not familiar with Tony or his work, but she trusted her friend's advice and made the drive from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. She only had two hundred dollars in her checking account and had just started a career as a realtor. It wasn't convenient for her to go to the seminar, but something inside of her propelled her to go when Tony's name began popping up here and there in her life.

"On a leap of faith, I went to Tony's event and I was just blown away," said Mina. "I felt like everything that I would have learned in my life in the next ten years, I learned in four short days." As soon as she arrived home, Mina started employing what she learned and she put together three real estate deals in one week. Soon, she was recruited by the top five realtor in the country and joined that team. Mina loved her work, but deep inside, she felt called to do something else. "I found that every time I went into a home, I was more interested in looking at the pictures of the families." Who are they? What do they do? Are they happy? Mina often wondered.

There was something else that Mina couldn't get out of her mind, and that was everything she learned at Tony's seminar. A little voice inside of her was pushing her to do the same work that Tony was doing in his seminars. The turning point for her came one day when she noticed a dusty book on a table while showing a home. "The book looked like it had never been read," said Mina. "I realized that this family probably would never read it--they didn't have the time or probably put it off for 'someday.' That was a moment for me--a moment when I knew what I was supposed to do."

Mina made the decision that in three months, she would leave her career in real estate and go to work for Tony. She went through a series of interviews and tests and then the news came: she was hired. "When I got the position, you would think I would be really excited--but my whole head just became quiet inside," Mina recalled. "When I hung up the phone, for one brief moment I wondered, 'Did I do the right thing?'"

That moment didn't last long. From the very first day, Mina found herself amazed. "It felt like home," she said. "That voice
in my head went away and I didn't feel any doubt from that moment on."

Mina travels from city to city, sharing Tony's tools and strategies in her workshops. She does an average of eight trainings per week. "I go into a company and ask them what the challenges are, what is working, what do they wish they could do-- and I provide a conversation based on what the company wants," said Mina. "I show people the value of proven strategies so that they follow the voice in their head, and hopefully twenty years from now they can look back and say, 'Wow, where I am nowis so much better than where I used to be.'"

Four months into her new journey, Mina left one meeting feeling like it was a disaster. Two people sat in the back and talked as she presented. One woman got up and walked out early. The energy in the room was low and Mina felt as if she wasn't making an impact. When Mina finished, she was flustered as she drove off and contemplated what she learned from the experience.
She concluded that it was one of her worse meetings. A year and half later, a woman came up to her and asked her if she remembered her. She was the gal who left early. "I was so inspired by you," she told Mina. "I realized that I was lying to myself. After thirty years of smoking, I quit cold turkey and haven't smoked since!"

"I thought that meeting was a disaster, but it had an impact on someone who had been trying to quit smoking for thirty years!" Mina said. "You never know what your impact can be." Mina also recalled a time when she was called to give a workshop two and half hours away, on her birthday. This meant a five hour drive, on top of another four hour drive to meet her family for dinner afterwards. When she arrived, she discovered that only three people showed up. "Only three people!" Mina laughed. "But it was
an amazing meeting. If I can have an impact on just one person, then it's worth it."

Mina especially remembers a profound impact on one gentleman who came to her workshop. He was in the mortgage business
and came for work. A month later, someone suggested that she get in touch with him, so she gave him a call to follow up. She learned that he had plans to commit suicide. For forty years, he lived his life as a straight person and when he came out to his friends and family, he was shunned and in extreme pain. "He shared with me that after the event, he felt he had a new lease on life--he felt alive," Mina said. "He realized that how others felt about him was not who he was. You never
know what people are going through."

Mina has received inspiration from the many folks she's met through the events. During one event, Mina became excited and lost her focus during a firewalk, experiencing some burns. As she was nursing her blistered feet afterwards, Billy, a volunteer, came up to her. Billy is a guy who knows about burns-- he was severely burned in an accident and missing an arm. "Listen, you might want to put some socks on--not that I know anything about burns," he said with a grin. "When you see Billy, you have so
much love," said Mina. "He totally owns himself. He gives, and gives, and gives."

Mina won the Platinum and President awards in 2010, making her the top trainer in the company. Five years from now, Mina sees herself on stage, impacting people on a larger scale. "I grew up with an abusive upbringing, I was left alone, I had an eating disorder as a teen," said Mina. "I'm on the other side now. I used all that to transform my life. I share that with people so they can transform their lives too. There are so many layers to yourself--you pull back one layer and discover something better. You keep pulling back the layers as long as you live."

(Yes, that's a picture of Mina in the water--getting ready to barefoot water ski! Tony Robbins hired a barefoot water ski instructor and taught his team how to walk on water.)

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Minaʼs expertise is in sales, leadership, personal development, and business strategy. Connect with her here: Mina Shah